Leadership in Crisis: Ernest Shackleton and the Epic Voyage of the Endurance

Abstract

Provides an opportunity to examine leadership and entrepreneurship in the context of Ernest Shackleton's 1914 Antarctic expedition, a compelling story of crisis, survival, and triumph. Summarizes Shackleton's career as an officer in the British Merchant Marine, his work on several prominent Antarctic missions, and the competitive nature of polar exploration in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Also examines Shackleton's planning and advance management of what he hoped would be the first-ever trek across the Antarctic continent. Details the events of this epic voyage aboard the Endurance. Readers have the opportunity to examine how, after the vessel became trapped in ice and the crew abandoned ship, the commander shifted his objectives and responsibilities from completing an historic march to ensuring the survival of all 28 expedition members. Considers Shackleton's efforts to maintain his team's morale, loyalty, and commitment in the face of extraordinary mental and physical trials during almost two years in the Antarctic.

As 2018 drew to a close, India prepared to once again carry out the largest democratic exercise in human history, as in less than six months more than 850 million eligible voters would have the chance to choose their representatives to the Lok Sabha—the country’s lower house of parliament—and, thus, their country’s Prime Minister and cabinet.[i] The election would pit the ruling party—the Bharatiya Janata Party (Indian People’s Party, known as the BJP) led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi—against a collection of parties that included the once-dominant Indian National Congress party (Congress). The 2019 elections would serve as a referendum on Modi’s first term in office and, therefore, on a high stakes question: had India’s implausibly robust democracy produced the right leader for the right moment, or had it taken the wrong path?